Automotive heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems typically include a blower assembly that draws air into the HVAC system and circulates the air from the HVAC system into a passenger compartment of a vehicle. Such automotive HVAC systems conventionally include a fresh-air mode that draws air into a passenger compartment of the vehicle from an area external to the vehicle and a recirculation mode that draws air from within the passenger compartment of the vehicle.
The HVAC system typically includes a series of ducts that are positioned within the vehicle to draw air from an area outside of the vehicle when the HVAC system is in the fresh-air mode and to draw air into the HVAC system from the passenger compartment of the vehicle when the HVAC system is in the recirculation mode. Operation of the HVAC system in either the fresh-air mode or the recirculation mode creates a noisy condition due to the flow of air through the duct work and into a blower of the HVAC system. Such noise is increased when the HVAC system is operating in the recirculation mode, as an inlet to the HVAC system that directs air from the passenger compartment into the HVAC system is typically located within the passenger compartment.